Author: staff

It takes a unique mind to make a psychosexual fairytale featuring a leather-clad serial killer, futuristic vistas, and Tom of Finland levels of homoeroticism and make it boring. But Nicolas Winding Refn has achieved just that. Ten years since his last feature (The Neon Demon), the director of Drive and Only God Forgives has indulged in some of his worst tendencies by making Her Private Hell a very public one. You’ve been warned. It opens promisingly enough, with mist engulfing a neon-soaked metropolis. A young woman, Elle (Sophie Thatcher), meets blushing ingénue Hunter (Kristine Froseth) in the lobby of the…

“I’d rather be accused of defending democracy than of trying to buy it.” Musk, who is a former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, has regularly weighed in on European politics and thrown his support behind far-right candidates and parties — and France is no exception. In July, Musk said far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was “France’s last hope,” but her National Rally party was quick to downplay his backing to avoid being associated with the controversial owner of Tesla and SpaceX. Hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon also slammed Musk’s attacks against Tondelier on Thursday, before accusing the French government…

Nicosia has expressed its satisfaction at the entry of the French investment group Meridiam as majority shareholder in the Great Sea Interconnector. Cyprus’ Energy Minister, Michalis Damianou, said that the participation of the French group gives new momentum to the project’s implementation and confirms the shared political will of Cyprus and Greece to advance electricity interconnection. He added that the Republic of Cyprus is still awaiting the due diligence study of the European Investment Bank (EIB) before deciding whether it will participate in the project as a shareholder. Damianou described Meridiam’s entry as a “vote of confidence” in the project,…

Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond in this Euronews news bulletin. In just a few minutes, our newsroom brings you the latest news and breaking news across world affairs, business, politics, culture, entertainment and travel, with the context you need to make sense of a fast-moving day. Reported with the independence and the European perspective that define Euronews, this regular round-up gives you a clear and reliable overview of the stories shaping our world right now, wherever you are watching from.

Published on 07/08/2026 – 11:25 GMT+2•Updated 11:32 A Chinese hyperspectral Earth observation satellite carrying an artificial intelligence module developed by Uzbek engineers has entered orbit as part of a joint project between China’s STAR.VISION and Uzbekistan’s national space agency, Uzcosmos. The mission marks the first deployment of an AI module developed by Uzbek engineers aboard one of STAR.VISION’s international satellite projects. The satellite, named Samarkand-2028, lifted off on 5 August from a sea-based launch platform near Haiyang in China’s Shandong Province. Explaining the satellite’s name, Uzbekistan’s Minister of Digital Technologies, Sherzod Shermatov, wrote on social media: “The name Samarkand-2028 is…

What began as a routine engineering project on Rome’s Caelian Hill has turned into one of the city’s most significant recent archaeological discoveries. Architects reinforcing an ancient Roman wall at Villa Celimontana unexpectedly uncovered the remains of a large Roman-era building decorated with elaborate mosaics, frescoes and painted ceilings. Archaeologists have so far identified eight rooms, five of which have been fully excavated, while several more extend beyond the current excavation area. Chief archaeologist Simona Moretta said the team expected ancient remains given the site’s location close to the Roman Forum, but not on such a scale. “Being in the…

Momentum is building behind a third term for conservative European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, a prospect set to disrupt an informal agreement among centrist political forces and to put the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) on the back foot. The Maltese politician from the European People’s Party (EPP), who is currently serving her second term as president, is clearly the frontrunner, despite not having announced whether she will seek another mandate. This scenario is concerning for the centre-left S&D group, which should be entitled to the presidency in the second half of the legislature but lacks the political clout to push…

Published on 07/08/2026 – 10:43 GMT+2 Sri Lanka deployed troops to its main maximum-security prison in Colombo and two other jails on Friday, following unsuccessful breakout attempts in which three inmates were killed and 23 wounded, a government minister said. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala said an inmate was killed and 10 others wounded after guards thwarted an attempt by about 40 convicts to escape from Colombo’s maximum-security Welikada Prison on Thursday night. Sri Lankan jails have been hit by a spate of unrest in recent weeks, with 10 guards and 23 inmates killed in two separate riots at two…

Experienced travellers are prioritising bucket list experiences, quieter destinations and slow itineraries, a new survey has revealed. According to the latest Global Rescue Traveller Sentiment and Safety Survey, 68% of travellers say they are more interested in once-in-a-lifetime experiences than they were a year ago. Only 29% of those surveyed reported no change in their desire for “YOLO” (you only live once) travel, with 3% saying they are less interested (we do not want to be friends with these people). On the flip side, plenty of folks are embracing “JOMO”, aka the joy of missing out, with 66% of those…

Published on 07/08/2026 – 10:36 GMT+2 TikTok star Sydney Towle, who shared her experience of living with a rare, aggressive form of cancer, has died at the age of 26. The American social media influencer was diagnosed with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma at just 23, a rare bile duct cancer that rarely affects people her age. She spent the last three years chronicling her daily life as a young person living with cancer and raising awareness. Her TikTok and Instagram videos garnered millions of views over the course of her health journey. The news of Towle’s death was announced on her…